Peel Lifeboat Station

Peel Lifeboat Station
Peel Lifeboat Station
Peel, Isle of Man
General information
Type	RNLI Lifeboat Station
Location	The Breakwater
Town or city	Peel
Country	Isle of Man
Coordinates	54°13′37″N 4°41′52.5″W
Opened	1828
Owner	Royal National Lifeboat Institution

Peel Lifeboat Station is located in the shadow of Peel Castle on St Patrick's Isle in the town of Peel in the Isle of Man. A lifeboat was first stationed here by the Royal National Institute for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck (RNIPLS) in 1828.

Re-established by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution in 1884, the station currently operates an Shannon-class All-weather lifeboat, 13-35 Frank and Brenda Winter (ON 1342).

History

On the 28 May 1828, Sir William Hillary, President of the Isle of Man District Association of the Royal National Institute for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck, wrote to the associations headquarters in London, requesting that a lifeboat be placed at both Peel and Ramsey, which was duly agreed.

A new boat was provided for Peel, a 26 ft 6-oared Palmer type, built by Taylor of Blackwall, which cost £55, and arrived in Peel on 12 December 1828. Records show only one service, in 1831, to the sloop Jane to rescue the 4 crew, and by 1836, for reasons unknown, the boat was recorded as wrecked.

A replacement boat was commissioned with local boatbuilder William Corlett, again a 26 ft Palmer inspired type boat. No services were ever recorded, and by 1843, this boat too is recorded as being unservicable.

Following the death of Sir William Hillary in 1848, and with little funding available, there seemed to be no interest in maintaining a lifeboat in Peel, despite the large number of fishing boats operating there.
However, in 1883, the Lt. Governor of the Isle of Man wrote to the (now) RNLI, to request that a station be re-established at both Peel and Ramsey, which was agreed. A new boat house was built next to the castle in 1884 by Redcliffe and Anderson, at a cost of £485 9s 10d, and in 1885, a new 37 foot 12-oared boat arrived, built by Woolfe of Shadwell, and costing £397; the John Monk (ON 83), funded by the legacy of Capt. John Monk RN, of Neston, Wirral.

After years of launching Peel lifeboats by hand, Peel received their first launch and recovery tractor, a CASE LA (T41) in 1963.

Following a coastal service review, the All-weather lifeboat was withdrawn in 1972, replaced with an A-class (McLachlan) class lifeboat. Then followed a further McLachlan boat, and then two B-class (Atlantic 21) lifeboats. In 1990, another coastal review determined that an All-weather boat would once again be placed at Peel, whilst Port Erin would receive an Atlantic 21 Inshore boat to replace their Rother-class All-weather lifeboat.

In 1992, Peel's new Mersey-class lifeboat arrived, costing £662,663, and was named 12-22 Ruby Clery (ON 1181), following a generous bequest from the late Miss R. A Clery of St. John's Wood, London, a great-great-granddaughter of Sir William Hillary. The naming ceremony took place on 12 September 1992, and was carried out by Mrs Karin Bache Nordli, the daughter of the baby rescued off the St George in 1889 (see Notable rescues).

The 1884 boathouse had to be demolished to make way for a new building for the Mersey lifeboat and tractor, but much of the original red sandstone was retained and re-used in the construction of the new building.

Ruby Clery served Peel for the next 27 years, before she was transferred to Ramsey, and then onto Douglas, where in 2024 she is still in service. Peel received a new Shannon-class lifeboat in 2020, although it was 2021 before she was formally accepted on service, delays in training being caused with the Covid pandemic. The boathouse once again required modifications, being extended on the North side, with larger access doors fitted, new workshop facilities, and a crew room mezzanine above the boat hall, with lookout windows.

Notable rescues

On the 7 October 1889, a large fully-rigged ship was seen in trouble off Peel, badly damaged, with broken masts. The John Monk was launched into the full fury of the storm. It took 16 men rowing a full 2 hours to reach the St. George, a Norwegian ship bound for Montevideo. Unable to get close, a breeches-buoy system was set up, and one by one, 21 crew, the Captain's wife, and baby, were rescued. The lifeboat hadn't reached Peel Harbour on the return trip, before the St George was driven ashore and wrecked. The survivors were landed on the quay to the cheers of a large assembled crowd. For this service, Coxswain Charles Cain and each of the 15 crew received the Silver Medal from the Norwegian Government, and a Manx bible. The figurehead off the boat, "George", was recovered and has been proudly on display at Peel Lifeboat Station ever since.

Station honours

The following are awards made at Peel

• Silver Medal, awarded by the Norwegian Government
• Manx Bible, presented by the Bishop of the Isle of Man

Charles Cain, Coxswain – 1890

Angus Cain – 1890

James Cain – 1890

John Callister – 1890

John Cook – 1890

Caesar Gorry – 1890

Henry Gorry – 1890

John Gorry – 1890

James Hughes – 1890

John Hughes – 1890

H. Kaighen – 1890

Joseph McMurdoch – 1890

William Quillam – 1890

John Quirk – 1890

John Sayle – 1890

William Williamson – 1890

• The Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum

Charles Cain II, Coxswain – 1910

Thomas Quirk – 1921

John Kissack – 1921

Patrick Gorry – 1926

W E Gorry, Coxswain – 1970

Edward Allen, Helmsman – 1980

Brian Maddrell, Helmsman – 1980

Frank Horne, crew member – 1995

• Vellum Service Certificates

John Keig – 1980

Philip Quane – 1980

Barry Horne – 1980

James Coulson – 1980

David Eames, Coxswain – 1995

Paul Jones, Second Coxswain – 1995

Paul Cain, Motor Mechanic – 1995

Tim Crookhall, crew member – 1995

John Hunter, crew member – 1995

Colin Makin, crew member – 1995

Andrew Quane, crew member – 1995

• Member, Order of the British Empire (MBE)

Frank Horne – 2022

Peel lifeboats

All-weather lifeboats

ON	Op. No.	Name	In service	Class	Comments
–	–	Unnamed	1828–1836	26 ft Palmer (P&S)
–	–	Unnamed	1836–1843	26 ft "Palmer Type" (P&S)
83	–	John Monk	1885–1895	37 ft 6in Self-righting (P&S)
–	–	Unnamed	1895–1897
396	–	Mayhew Medwin	1897–1925	37 ft Self-righting (P&S)
634	–	Henry Kirk	1925–1937	37 ft Self-righting (P&S)
799	–	Helen Sutton	1937–1952	Liverpool
903	–	Helena Harris - Manchester & District XXXI	1952–1972	Liverpool	All-weather lifeboat withdrawn until 1992
1181	12-22	Ruby Clery	1992–2019	Mersey
1187	12-28	Mary Margaret	2019–2021	Mersey
1342	13-35	Frank and Brenda Winter	2021–	Shannon

Inshore lifeboats

Op. No.	Name	In service	Class	Comments
A-506 (18-006)	Unnamed	1972	A-class (McLachlan)
A-507 (18-007)	Unnamed	1973–1976	A-class (McLachlan)
B-536	Unnamed	1976–1989	B-class (Atlantic 21)
B-575	John Batstone	1989–1992	B-class (Atlantic 21)

Launch and Recovery Tractors

Op. No.	Reg. No.	Type	In service	Comments
T41	JXR 66	Case LA	1963–1970
T54	MJT 722P	Case LA	1970–1973
T43	JXR 934	Case LA	1973–1978
TW07	MAN 49W	Talus MB 764 County	1978–1988
TW06	BMN 476L	Talus MB 764 County	1988–1992
T114	1222 MN	Talus MB-H Crawler	1992–2004
T111	1222 MN	Talus MB-H Crawler	2004–2019
T108	1222 MN	Talus MB-H Crawler	2019–2021
SC-T22	1335 MAN	SLARS (Clayton)	2020–

See also

• List of RNLI stations
• Royal National Lifeboat Institution
• Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboats